Chapter 3

Iris's POV

A few months ago, Adrian said he had to go on a business trip overseas and didn't come back for a whole month. During that time, he only sent me one text a day just to let me know he was okay—he wouldn't even call.

I was so stupid, worried he was working too hard. I sent him these long, long messages every day, telling him how much I missed him.

Turns out he wasn't on a business trip.

He was fooling around with Celeste!

"Damn it!" I slammed my hand against the window. My knuckles throbbed with pain.

Steven jumped. "Miss Hayes?"

"Sorry, I just..." I covered my face, curling into the seat.

Why would he do this to me?

What did I do wrong?

For three years, he was my entire world. He said he didn't like me wearing heavy makeup, so I went bare-faced. He said he wanted me to read more, so I studied like crazy. He said he didn't want to get married too soon, so I kept waiting...

I waited three years for him, and he gave another woman his baby.

The car turned a corner and my body swayed with it. The scenery outside changed from the run-down old district to a brightly lit wealthy neighborhood.

Massive mansions flashed past the window, each one intimidatingly huge.

"We're almost there, Miss Hayes." Steven's voice pulled me back to reality. "Your parents are waiting at home. Your mother's name is Olivia Miller, and your father is Henry Hayes."

Parents.

Those two words suddenly made my nose sting.

I grew up in an orphanage. I never knew what having parents felt like.

The car stopped in front of a massive European-style mansion.

I stared at that house in a daze—at least five stories tall, with a fountain still running out front, garden path lights illuminating the entire grounds bright as day.

"This... this is?"

"The Hayes family main residence." Steven opened the car door. "From today on, this is your home."

My legs felt weak. I nearly fell when I stepped onto the ground. Steven caught me. "Careful."

The mansion's front door suddenly flew open.

A woman in a silk robe rushed out. Her hair was gray, but you could still see she'd been beautiful when she was young.

"Iris!" When she saw me, tears instantly streamed down her face. "My daughter!"

Before I could react, she'd already rushed over and wrapped me in her arms, holding me so tight—like she was afraid I'd disappear.

"Mom's been waiting twenty-three years for you... twenty-three years..." Her voice broke with sobs. "My precious girl, you've suffered so much... I'm so sorry I made you wait so long."

Heavy footsteps came from behind. A tall man walked out wearing dark loungewear, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Iris." His voice was choked. "Welcome home."

I stood there looking at these two strangers who somehow felt familiar—their faces carried the same pain, the same tears as mine.

"I..." I didn't know what to say.

She let me go and cupped my face, studying it carefully. "Let Mom get a good look at you... Oh honey, why are you crying like this?"

Seeing the tear tracks on my face, her heart broke. She immediately turned and shouted at my father, "What are you standing there for? Get the maids to prepare hot towels! And call the family doctor!"

"I'm okay, really..."

"What do you mean okay?" Olivia's tears fell again. "My daughter's been bullied like this, and you say you're okay? Tell Mom—who hurt you?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't get the words out.

Henry walked over and patted my shoulder with his big hand. "Come inside first. Don't stand out here. Whatever it is, we'll talk slowly."

The living room was bright as day. Crystal chandelier, leather sofas, famous paintings, antiques... everything reminded me how different this world was from that 50-square-foot rental I'd been living in.

Olivia pulled me to sit down, gripping my hand and refusing to let go. Her hands were soft with a faint rose scent.

"These years, how have you been?" She looked into my eyes. "It must have been so hard, wasn't it?"

I shook my head. "It was okay. The orphanage director was good to me."

"Orphanage..." Henry's fists clenched. "It's all our fault. That hospital fire—we were right outside the delivery room, but we still let someone steal you away..."

"Those damn human traffickers!" Olivia said through gritted teeth. "The police searched for twenty-three years and never found them. If Steven hadn't checked that birthmark record and blood donation, we still wouldn't know where you were..."

"Wait, tonight... did something happen?" Henry frowned at me. "Why were you crying like that?"

My tears welled up again.

"I... I was supposed to get engaged tonight." My voice got smaller and smaller. "But... but he brought another woman. She was pregnant, and the baby was his..."

Before I could finish, Olivia exploded.

"What?!" She shot to her feet. "Which blind idiot dared to treat my daughter like this?"

Henry's face also turned ugly. "Who is it?"

"Adrian Sterling." Just saying his name felt like another stab to my heart.

"The Sterling family?" Henry gave a cold laugh. "I helped Robert Sterling out years ago. Didn't think his son would be so badly raised."

"I can't swallow this!" Olivia paced back and forth, her face flushed with anger. "Tomorrow I'm going to find Robert and make him answer for this! His son needs to explain himself to my daughter!"

"Mom... forget it." I smiled bitterly. "It's because I wasn't good enough for him."

"Bullshit!" Olivia suddenly cursed, startling me. "You're the Hayes family heiress! The entire business world has to show us respect! What's the Sterling family? They're nothing compared to us!"

Henry walked to the safe, entered the code, and took out a black card and a bank card, handing them to me.

"These are yours." His voice was gentle. "The black card has no limit—use it anytime. This bank card has all the money we've saved for you over the years. The password is your birthday. It's about... a couple billion, give or take. Also, the company has reserved 10% of shares for you. Based on current market value... roughly twenty billion dollars."

I completely blanked out.

Twenty... billion?